Craig Rabinowitz drugged and strangled wife Stefanie Rabinowitz

By all accounts, Craig and Stefanie Rabinowitz had a storybook relationship. Young when they me, they had fallen in love, been married, gotten their careers on track, and had a beautiful daughter. The couple had "met as teens in summer camp", but hopefully nothing too romantic had developed at the time. With at least a four year separation in ages, I imagine Stefanie had only been 13 or 14 while Craig was nearly an adult. Working to put Stefanie through law school was a noble thing for Craig to do. Even though they had no children at the time, maintaining a one-income household for a young couple can be challenging.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

In hindsight, Craig's 911 call was fake – this happens frequently enough that this act gets its own designation above in our 'File This Under...' section. But "collapsing" upon hearing the news of Stefanie's ultimate demise seemed over the top. Again in hindsight, this was obviously a fake reaction. Despite Stefanie's condition when "discovered" and on route to the hospital, it almost seem that Craig was selling that he believed she might pull through. But overall, Craig's demeanor with investigators didn't tip them off. He'd left nothing suspicious at the house – nothing out of place, no signs of a break in. There everything was in order to lead police to think this had been nothing more than a tragic accident.

But Craig Rabinowitz's plan to cover up the murder of his wife Stefanie was thwarted by subsequent events. Both had been raised by traditionally Jewish parents. One of the important customs in Judaism around an adherent's death is that the deceased is to be buried before the next sundown. The coroner (Ian Hood) grew suspicious when he learned of a statement Craig had made. The grieving husband claimed that Stefanie was "having trouble adjusting to the demands of being a mother and a lawyer," and that she occasionally took a sleep aid. Craig had likely been counting on a quick burial of Stefanie, therefore allowing no time for a thorough autopsy. But the coroner had other plans. So despite the desire of Craig and of Stefanie's own parents, Ian Hood demanded a complete forensic examination.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

I'm glad that science and the pursuit of truth was allowed to overrule religious customs in this case. Laws supporting a criminal investigation should come before the dogmatic rituals of religion and tradition. I classify myself as 'non-religious', though I enjoy learning about various religions and their followers. But I tend to lose my patience when devotees put their own choices aside for the artificial demands of their religious values. Believe in whatever higher power helps you get through the struggles of this earthly world, and call it what you will – religion, spiritualism, etc. But please continue to think for yourself and make your own life's choices based on experience, science, truth, and evidence. Don't let the manmade constructs of a belief system have control of your free will.

Back to our story, the other event that thwarted Craig's plan was the "tipster" who alerted investigators to Craig's involvement with Delilah's Den. It was stated that Stefanie knew of Craig's activities at Delilah's, but it's impossible to think she knew how frequently he was going. Three times per week is excessive, even for a married "businessman". And I doubt the deals made by a latex glove salesman are improved in the environment of a strip club. The identity of this tipster wasn't shared, but my guess is that Stefanie shared her misgivings with others.

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Without this tipster's information, would the police have discovered Craig Rabinowitz's Ponzi scheme? With the evidence from Stefanie's autopsy indicating foul play, I'd imagine the police would've searched Craig's home and found the incriminating evidence anyway. But perhaps with more time, Craig would've moved or destroyed it. Apparently, the closet's attic crawl space was not the best hiding place – heck, this is precisely the location we'd come up with as teenagers to hide pornography at my friend's house. Coincidentally, in addition to the evidence of his salacious activities and Ponzi scheme, Craig stashed porn in his crawl space too.

On the other side of the coin, consider how the case might've proceeded without the coroner's autopsy. The tipster would've alerted investigators, and Craig's Ponzi scheme and motivation to murder would've been revealed. Would this have been enough probable cause to get a court order to exhume Stefanie Rabinowitz's body for a postmortem autopsy? Would the same physical evidence of murder still be discoverable? I'd guess "no" on the bruising (elbow, knee, neck muscles). How about the petechial hemorrhaging? How about the Ambien in Stefanie's system? And could her stomach contents still as readily indicate her time of death?

With no office in which Craig was supposedly running his latex glove business, it was thought his time "at work" was mostly spent at Delilah's Den. It's no wonder the evidence revealed Craig Rabinowitz had spent nearly $100,000 dollars there in a year's time. In the case of Rachel Siani's murder by Jack Denofa, I revealed that I've spent some time at various strip clubs over the years. I'd guess that the most money I'd ever spent at a strip club in one night might be around $200. This was likely at a bachelor party, buying drink for friends (and other perks for the bachelor). My back-of-the-napkin math reveals that Craig spent more than this at Delilah's Den every night for a year. Assuming on the high end at five visits per week, his daily total is a whopping $384.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

And Delilah's Den was not the only place Craig Rabinowitz was spending his Ponzi scheme's ill-gotten earnings. Additional receipts showed that he was renting hotel rooms and purchasing gifts, likely for his favorite dancer, "Summer". While Summer flat-out denied having a romantic relationship with Craig Rabinowitz (a smart position to take since there was no hard evidence), this seems unlikely. It's not abnormal for wealthy patrons to purchase gifts for their favorite dancers, or to pay for things in their lives – cars, apartments, etc. But the investigators showed that Craig's hotel receipts contained charges for room service for two people. He had not been alone.

The range of forensic experts in Forensic Files includes blood spatter experts, handwriting specialists, microscopists, and even botanists. But this episode included the rare "forensic accountant". The love of my life is a tireless CPA, and this inclusion brought her much joy. We were impressed with Rick Zayas and his work deciphering the accounting ledger Craig had used to appraise his wife's murder. It seems like a very specific skill to be able to interpret accounting entries that have been coded to hide misdeeds. Sadly, this is probably more necessary and prevalent in the business world than I want to imagine.

This episode left me with more than the usual number of lingering questions:

• Where was the Rabinowitzs' young daughter on the night of Stefanie's murder?
• The coroner indicated Stefanie Rabinowitz was drugged and strangled, but the reenactment suggested that Craig held her underwater as he choked her. Was water found in Stefanie's lungs? This would have supported drowning, and more in line with an accident.
• 10pm was the suggested time of death, but Craig didn't call 911 until midnight. If he'd strangled Stefanie in the bathtub, this means her body was in the tub for nearly two hours before medics arrived. Wouldn't this prolonged submergence be evident to investigators?
• Why had Craig pawned Stefanie's heirloom jewelry shortly after her death? Even as bad with money as Craig was, he must've known he was on the losing end of the transaction. Why was Craig desperate for the few thousand dollars the pawning might've netted him?

Where is Craig Rabinowitz now in 2024?

On the first day of his trial, Craig Rabinowitz changed his original "not guilty" plea to "guilty". He claimed his deceased wife Stefanie came to him in a dream. Police believe he chose to avoid having his scandalous life exposed to the public and to his family. On the day before Halloween in 1997, a judge sentenced Craig Rabinowitz to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He's currently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution in Houtzdale, Pennsylvania.